UK Research: Excess Candy for Kids Leads to Violent Adulthood

Add this to your list of reasons not to stuff children silly with sweets. From BBC News:

[A UK] University study involving 17,500 people is the first into effects of childhood diet on adult violence. It found 10-year-olds who ate sweets daily were significantly more likely to have a violence conviction by age 34. Researchers suggested they had not learnt to delay gratification, but other experts said already “difficult” children might be given more sweets. Read more…

The response from the British Food and Drink Federation (FDF):

This is either utter nonsense or a very bad April Fool’s Day joke.

Whether it’s true or not, everyone will agree that too many sweets are not beneficial to children; but more and more candy sales are very beneficial to manufacturers.

Total abstinence from sweets is a big No No, and in many cases causes the opposite of the original intent.

Children and adults should enjoy snacks and sweets as part of a mentally healthy life. Though we dislike the industry coined “consumed in moderation”, moderation is the key. While “moderate” for beverage and snack companies may be 2 soft drinks a day or 3 candy bars by dinner, a more sensible approach could be sugary drinks only at special events, and a few candy bars a week. There are plenty of sweet snacks such as fresh and dried fruits that children can be encouraged to enjoy on a daily basis.

What to do at the supermarket:

NOT bringing children along to the grocery store will substantially reduce the amount of sweets you buy. If you do bring the next generation with you, preplan the trip so that each child gets to choose just one or two products to buy.

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